Mexico City is steeped in history of all sorts.
One could spend
countless hours reading the personal stories of the characters who have
lived in the city over the centuries and the wars and bloody violence
performed here. Mexico City is the oldest capital city in the Americas and
founded by Aztecs in 1325. It was originally built on an island of Lake
Texcoco and was called Tenochtitlan.
The Spanish Conquistadores came and
destroyed this whole area in 1521, and then rebuilt it to Spanish standards.
We now call the buildings Colonial Architecture, which we have come to
accept as being beautiful. This place has been known as Mexico City since
1585.
Plaza Santo Domingo
Here in the center of the photo you see
the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. Due to poor construction, the soft soil, and
earthquakes, the current church you see here is the third one built on this
site. The front is made from a deep red volcanic stone and the entrance is
mostly cantera, a white/grey stone.
To the right of the photo you see the
Inquisition Palace. It has a flat front so that it can face the plaza, and
both streets on either side of the building lead squarely to it. At the time
of construction, this design was considered innovative and attractive.
However, over the years, it earned the name of "Squat-faced House" to
describe the doorway.
The Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition was
not fully established here until 1571. For those of you who might not know
of the Inquisition, this was a group of Vatican approved institutions within
the Catholic Church's governing body whose aim was to combat heresy.
Ferdinand and Isabela, the King and Queen of Spain, sought to unite their
country and "purify" the people and made a request to the Pope to spread the
Inquisition to their country, territories and conquered lands.
It was a dark time in the Church,
imprisoning, torturing and decapitating "heretics." This building served as
the headquarters of the Inquisition and it had hearing rooms, judges
chambers, a secret chamber, a jail and accommodations for two inquisitors.
The Inquisition was officially disbanded
in Mexico in 1820.
Today it serves as the Museum of Mexican
Medicine.
The view out to the plaza from the
Cathedral
It's a wide open square and the building to the left also has that deep red
volcanic stone as part of its construction. There is a fountain in the
center left.
A closer look at the Cathedral of
Santo Domingo
Here you get a better view of the Church
front with the red stone making up a large percentage of the construction.
Notice that the building on the left has this same color of stone.
There used to be several smaller churches
to the left of the Cathedral, one was especially for teaching the morenos
or the dark, indigenous people. Those churches are no longer there.
Inside Cathedral Santo Domingo
As in many cathedrals, inside is
beautiful and stately. This church doesn't have as much gold leaf as the
Church of Santo Domingo in Oaxaca, Mexico, but it is beautiful
nonetheless.
To the left is the Cathedral
This is another square behind the Church
arches. A movie was being filmed here and we watched the camera crew and
actors working.
Ancient and modern together
To the right in the photo you will see
the original walls of the convent which housed the nuns in service to Santo
Domingo Cathedral. Because the ground is so soft and used to be a lakebed,
buildings over the years are sinking. In this particular case, the walls on
the right in the photo and the walls on the left (outside the photo) leaned
in opposing directions, and the roof collapsed.
In the center here now, is a modern
auditorium where plays and concerts are presented.
A different view of the convent from
the auditorium
On the right is the opposing wall, and on
the left is the wall in the previous photo. As you can see, the roof is
gone, but parts of the face of the convent still stands. Inside the rooms of
the convent you can still see original murals on the wall: angels, clouds,
famous people of the Church and gold banners written in either Latin or
Spanish.
From the front of the convent looking
down the square
There was not a lot of foot traffic on
this day. You can see how clean the street is, and how old walkways have
been modernized all into one level. No more cobblestones or broken
sidewalks.
Fountain in the Plaza
The Cathedral is to the right outside of
the photo. We are looking at a building that houses dozens and dozens of
printing and scribing businesses. I don't know who the man sitting in the
chair atop the fountain is. He looks like a cleric, rather than a political
figure.
Aries Printing
This is cupboard number 9 and is called
Aries printing. Apparently you can get business cards printed here in these
shops in about an hour.
This sign advertises that they do social
and commercial work.
A closer look at the businesses
working out of this building
Clerks, secretaries and transcribers all
work here with old typewriters (not electric!) and antique printing
machines. They offer their services to illiterate clients similar to what a
lawyer, counselor or a financial consultant might do.
You can also get anniversary cards,
wedding invitations, and Quinceanos party cards made here as well.
Keeping cool with blocks of ice
Yes, blocks of ice are still delivered to
businesses in this day and age. This vendor is prepared and also has a bag
of ice cubes available for sale as well.